Strangers In The Night
by lesbiquinn
Summary: Quinn Fabray enlisted in the army when she was 18 years old and didn't regret doing it until four years later when she met Rachel Berry.


New York is a beautiful city, but it's a damn shame that some tourists have seen more of it than I have…and I live there.

I've "lived" in Manhattan for about two years, and I've only seen a small portion of it. Whenever I'm home, I usually take a jog around Central Park, get lunch at the café down the street, and go grocery shopping at the market about two blocks down from my apartment. Aside from that, I stay in my apartment and watch old movies and read some books. I genuinely enjoy relaxing, seeing as I don't get to do it often without the stress of my job on my shoulders.

I enlisted in the U.S. Army seven months after I graduated from high school. I lived in a small, rinky-dink town in Ohio called Lima. Can I just say that after four years of being in the army, not one person has known about or heard of my hometown? I think that says a lot about it.

Lima is really small and conservative. It has one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school. You have to drive for 45 minutes before you can get to the nearest mall. Most of the people that live there walk everywhere, because it's pointless to drive: everything is within 15 minutes from your house.

I grew up in Lima. My father owned the only law firm in the area, so our family was probably one of the wealthiest in the entire town. We lived in a pretty large home on northern side of town…our home was also located right next to the Christian church.

To put it simply, my father is the biggest bigot I know, and I've met a LOT of bigots. We attended every service our church held, even on birthdays. For the first sixteen years of my life, all I knew was church. I honestly can't remember anything BUT church when I think about those years.

I was the perfect Christian daughter: I got straight A's, I was captain of our schools cheerleading team, I had a boyfriend named Finn (our names sound so unfortunate together, now that I think about it), and I even formed a celibacy club. As far as everybody in Lima was concerned, I was untouchable…and that turned me into a power hungry bitch.

I was probably one of the meanest people at McKinley, and that's putting it lightly. I knew that people bowed to me and watched me as if I was a fallen angel, and that meant I could pretty much get away with anything I wanted. Finn was on the football team, which meant I ordered him around just as much as I did with anyone else. He was an idiot, to say the least, and he believed everything I said. At one point, I was ordering the entire football team to throw frozen slushie drinks at some of the "loser" kids.

However, it wasn't long before reality took a quick jab at my groin. In the beginning of my sophomore year, every single thing I held with me on my pedestal came crashing down. I ended up getting drunk and sleeping with my boyfriend's best friend.

I honestly don't know why I did it. I wasn't attracted to Finn, and that may have explained it, but I wasn't really attracted to Puck either. He was definitely a good looking guy, and I didn't mind making out with him, but I didn't want to have sex with him…it sort of just happened.

The sex was over just as quickly as it started. When it was happening, I didn't think a thing of it…just about the fact that it hurt and I wanted it to be over. Puck was a big guy, and when he finished he kind of plopped down on top of me and crushed my body.

I told Puck that we wouldn't ever talk about it again. He gave me a quick head nod, and I thought that would be the end of it. I was wrong. So wrong.

Two weeks later I missed my period and hell officially broke loose. It wasn't long before everybody at school found out, even Finn. At first, he thought it was his. I went along with it, realizing that Finn would be a better father than Puck ever would, and told him that I got pregnant even though we never had sex. Being the dumbass he was, he believed me. I took advantage of the power I still held over him for as long as I could.

I didn't hold that power for very long. Puck had finally decided he actually wanted to be a part of this child's life, and spilled the beans to Finn. He broke up with me, as he should have, and all I had left was my parents. They found out one week later.

When they asked me about why my stomach was getting larger during dinner, I couldn't stop myself from breaking down. My mother remained silent and my father stayed surprisingly calm. For a moment, I almost thought he was going to reassure me, but that moment faded quickly as he re-entered our living room and told me I had thirty minutes to pack my belongings.

I had my baby girl seven months later. Her name is Beth, and she lives with a lovely couple about thirty minutes south of Lima. I haven't seen her since the day I gave birth to her.

After the pregnancy, my life turned into a complete shithole. I was homeless, hopping from house to house and begging my friends to let me stay with them. The rest of high school was a blur. My grades dropped significantly, and although I was pretty bright, I knew I could never afford college.

After graduation, I spent months searching for a job of some sort, but after Beth, I had gained a pretty bad reputation. Nobody would hire me, and even if I did get a call for an interview, nothing ever came from it. I had no job, no home to call my own, no family, and practically no friends.

One day, while I was at the Lima Bean, two men in uniform walked in and ordered. It was strange to see anybody like this in Lima because mostly everybody either worked for a family-owned business or went to community college. After they fixed their drinks and walked out, I made the decision that would change my life forever.

A week later I found myself taking a bus to the local recruitment office. Within an hour, I was signed up. Within two weeks, I was sent off to basic, and after that was finished, I was stationed in Germany.

I don't know what my life would be without the army. Sure, I've has some terrifying experiences here and there, but it honestly saved my life. After those first two years of being in Germany, I decided that I had accumulated enough money to rent out a place in New York.

Why New York? I honestly don't know. One day I was reading about the city in a book, and when I returned home a few months later, I made some calls and wound up finding a place for a moderately low price. I got away from Lima, and I haven't returned since.

Two days ago, I was informed that we would be allowed a two week vacation. This didn't happen often, but when it did, the moments were precious. The last time I was given a two week vacation, I literally camped out in my apartment for an entire week. I didn't leave once, not even to get food. I got pizza delivered, ate three bags of chips, and drank tap water.

It's not that I don't like to explore, it's just that I don't have anybody to do it with. I'd rather just enjoy my free time by myself in my apartment than by myself in the city.

This morning I decided to take a jog. I've become so accustomed to working out that it feels strange not to. Central Park was the perfect place to go to.

It's a Saturday, which means it's really busy right now. It's early, but that doesn't stop anybody from visiting the park.

I've been jogging behind a horse-drawn carriage for about twenty minutes now, and I don't know why the hell I haven't gone around it. The smell is awful, and the horses are slow (but who wouldn't be slow when carrying something like a fucking carriage?) so I cut to my left and attempt to run around the carriage.

I don't know if it was fate, a message from God, or maybe just poor timing, but when I started to run to the front of the horses, I ran straight into a woman…who proceeded to spill the three cups of coffee she was carrying all over me.

The coffee was hot, but it was the middle of November and it was fairly cold outside which meant I was bundled up. Unfortunately, my jacket was white and the coffee was black.

I looked up to see what this woman looked like, but before I could even get a good look at her she was sputtering apologies.

"I am—oh my goodness—I am so sorry! I was just in a hurry to get to work, and I wasn't paying attention. I am so, so sorry. I'll buy you a new jacket—actually; I'll buy you a new wardrobe…"

The woman continued to ramble on for another solid three minutes, but I was too mesmerized by her to even care. She was short, but her legs seemed to go on forever. She was wearing a multicolored striped pea coat and an adorable white hat was laying on the back of her head. Her bangs went straight across her forehead, and although this was a hairstyle suited for a four-year-old, she managed to pull it off.

"Oh my god, I burned you into silence! I can't believe this!"

"Hey—whoa—it's okay. I'm…perfectly fine."

I don't normally find myself stumbling over words. This was strange.

"I can't believe I let that happen! I am usually so good about watching where I'm going, especially when carrying scalding beverages, but today obviously just isn't my day…"

The woman looked incredibly stressed about the situation. Way more stressed than I would be, and that says a lot because I'm usually awful in situations like this.

"Hey, it's fine. It's just one jacket, and I'm not even burnt. Accidents happen, right?"

The brunette nodded and looked over to me, offering a small smile, not showing her teeth.

"Let's see if we can get you somewhat cleaned up."

She grabbed me by the wrist, which tore me completely out of my comfort zone. I honestly couldn't remember the last time I had been touched like this, but I decided to calm myself down rather than freak out over the little tings.

She found a bench in the mob of people and we plopped down on it, immediately searching through her bag for something. About a minute later, she pulled out some baby wipes (why she carries them, I have no clue) and began to dab at my jacket.

Things were quiet for a moment. The only sound between the two of us was our soft breathing and the noise from the park. Was I supposed to talk to her? Do you make small talk when a complete stranger is cleaning coffee off of you?

"So, uh…what's your name?" Quinn asked.

The woman shot her head up and cracked a smile for the first time and I can truthfully say that for the first time since I had my child, I got jitters in my stomach.

"Rachel. Berry. Rachel Berry."

Rachel. What a cute name.

"…and you are?"

Oh, shit. I forgot to say my OWN name.

"Quinn Fabray.

"Well, Quinn Fabray, I am going to apologize again for spilling coffee on you. I am so—"

"Rachel…don't worry about it."

Rachel gave me a small smile went back to work on my jacket, taking her time to try and work the stains out.

"I thought you had to be at work."

Rachel laughed and shook her head.

"I did…but then I ran into some woman at the park and now I'm stuck cleaning her off."

I would have been completely annoyed and irritated if anybody else had said this, but the way Rachel said it made it acceptable.

"So…where do you work?"

This launched the short brunette into another long-winded rant, mostly about college and how she isn't actually employed.

"I just graduated from NYU in the spring, majoring in business. I've been looking for a job since then but it's actually hard to find one. Turns out not many companies need newly-graduated business majors in their office."

Rachel didn't look like she would be involved in business at all. The peppiness in her voice and the bounce in her step reminded me of someone that would be in musical theater.

"What do you do, Quinn?"

The question pulled me back to reality and I was actually scared to tell her my occupation.

"I'm in the army."

I don't think I've ever met anybody that talks as much as Rachel does.

"The army? Wow. I've never met anybody that serves for our country before! What is it like? Have you ever shot a gun? Oh God, I hope you haven't actually shot anyone before. Do you even like the color green?"

I giggled at Rachel's questions. Her curiosity was adorable.

"No, Rachel, I haven't shot anybody before. Not yet, anyway."

She started to say something, but her phone began to ring before she could spit it out. When she saw the caller I.D., she sort of rolled her eyes before she answered.

"Hey, Kurt."

All I could hear from the other line was shouting, and for a brief moment, I wondered if there was someone that talked more than Rachel did.

"Mhm. Okay. Alright, Kurt. Okay. Okay. Alright. Bye."

"Business call?" I inquired.

"Business? Ha! No. Kurt is actually my best friend, and he just called to inform me that he is throwing a party tonight."

My eyebrow must have raised itself as it normally does, because Rachel raised hers right back.

"Parties are fun."

"Not when you don't have anybody to go with."

"Find someone."

"Hey, Quinn. Want to come to this party with me?"

Her bluntness shocked me. I had just met this girl about twenty minutes ago and she was already inviting me to a party.

Normally if I had been put in a situation like this, I would find a way out of it and fast. I wasn't really a social person, and parties WERE fun, but I didn't like them. Especially when I didn't know anybody there.

So what came out of my mouth next really confused me.

"Sure."

Rachel looked over to me and grinned.

"Okay! It's at seven o'clock tonight. Dress casual, and I'll meet you there!"

Rachel was gathering her bag on the bench and she almost walked away before I could get her attention again.

"Rachel!"

"Yes, Quinn?"

"You should probably tell me where it's at."

Rachel laughed a full belly laugh and proceeded to write down Kurt's address along with her phone number.

After, when she was skipping away in her cute little pea coat, the reality of it all hit me like a truck.

I was going to a party with a girl that spilled coffee all over me this morning in Central Park…and I wasn't even regretting it.


End file.
